System and method to determine the location and orientation of an indwelling medical device
US6263230A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 6, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 17, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 6, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2090/3958
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A device to detect the location of a plurality of magnets uses a plurality of magnetic sensors, having sensor elements arranged in a known fashion. Each sensor element senses the magnetic field strength generated by each of the plurality of magnets and provides data indicative of the direction of the magnets in a three-dimensional space. The device uses fundamental equations for electricity and magnetism that relate the measured magnetic field strength to the location and strength of the magnetic dipole for each of the plurality of magnets. The device may use an iterative process to determine the actual location and orientation of each magnet. An initial estimation of the location and orientation of each magnet results in the generation of predicted magnetic field values. The predicted magnetic field values are compared with the actual measured values provided by the magnetic sensors. Based on a difference between the predicted values and the measured values, the device estimates a new location for each of the magnets and calculates new predicted magnetic field strength values. The iteration process continues until the predicted values match the measured values within a desired deg…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.